West Sioux music students, Grades 2-5, participated in a spring concert led by instructor Jill Orban at West Sioux High School April 11.

A full house of family and community residents attended.

About 240 students participated, said Orban.

“They were pretty pumped for it. This is the culmination of building their skills all year long plus we will work the final month of the school year,” said Orban.

Fourth graders played a special role of working extra on their skills with a recorder instrument performance at the concert. Those “Black Belt Recorder” students were Chris Schmidt, Miranda Mulder, Jack Monsma, Breanna Klocke, Dakota Allen, Jordan Morgan, Sydney Smith and Charity Allen.

“The students come in on their own time and work on their skills to achieve the ‘Black Belt.’ We have belts from white to black,” said Orban.

Second graders sang “Waiting for the Traffic Light;” “What Did You Put in Your Pocket,” a song in which they did the arrangement; and “Way Down in the Schoolyard.”

Orban noted Culligan Water Inc. of Orange City donated the water jugs used as drums. She also brought in a drum of her own.

Honor for Orban

Orban, a Morningside College alumni, returned to the Sioux City campus to be part of the “Teacher of the Year” Awards at the college as she was one of the teachers nominated in March. She has been the elementary vocal teacher at West Sioux since 2006.

“I always wanted to be a teacher and it was a chance to meet with other teachers and visit with college professors,” said Orban.

Orban is an alumni of Sioux City North High School.

The Morningside Educator Program for Inspired Teaching (MERIT) Program has presented the 2013 National Alumni Educator of the Year Award to Paul C. Koch, vice president for academic and student affairs at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. The 2013 Siouxland Alumni Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Kelley Johnson, a fourth grade teacher at Kluckhohn Elementary School in Le Mars.

William Deeds, Morningside’s vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, presented the awards at a banquet March 13 at the college’s Olsen Student Center.

To be considered for the awards, candidates must exemplify the qualities of an effective teacher, have made a significant contribution to the field of education and have had a positive impact on students and their families.